Madonna is perfectly fit and healthy and is not suffering from any illness claims her representative. The comments come after photographs emerged showing the pop superstar looking hauntingly gaunt and frail.

The 4 Minutes singer was snapped leaving the Kabbalah Center in New York on Friday night looking worryingly thin with visibly sunken cheeks.

But the 49-year old’s spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, has put the weightloss down to the gruelling rehearsals for her upcoming world tour - and insists the Holiday hitmaker is perfectly healthy.

She tells People: "I just think the photographer got a bad shot of her or it was touched up to make her look bad.

"I saw Madonna two days before... and she looked amazing - glowing skin and working really hard on her show.

"She may look a little thinner than usual but she was dancing and singing better than ever and ate a nice healthy meal."

See Madonna's transformation from young pin-up to aging festerer here.